Heartstrings come Undone
by baby-kitsune9
Summary: It wasn't something planned. But then fate rarely was. Modo had seen and done terrible things during the war on mars. He'd been an interrogator, part of an espionage unit- And last of all a guardian. His momma had taught him to look for fragileness and to protect those that project it. Maybe that's why he liked the human, Aya, so much. She was everything a guardian needed.
1. Chapter 1

It was quiet.

Even the creaking of the hardwood floor under his boots was nearly silent as he stepped into the two bedroom cabin style house and took a quick but cautious look around the small area inside the door, and gently, silently closed it behind him. Everything was dark, the inky blackness wrapping around him like a protective cloak, as he looked down at the little table next to his right hip at the little blue bowl with a broken strand of white pearls and a small set of keys in it.

_Ah, so she's home._ He thought as he moved stealthily down the hall to the bedroom at the end where he would find Aya, a young human female that he and his bros had taken a keen interest in, curled up sound asleep on her side under the mint and emerald green blanket that was wrapped around her waist.

Not that it mattered much if she was home or not- He'd wiled away many an hour just sitting on her couch, or laying on his back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. At least until he heard the distinct sounds of a key sliding home in the front door's lock. At which point he'd leave the house via the window and then he'd return later for his normal nocturnal activities.

Stepping into Aya's room, his red eye automatically zeroed in on the female.

She was laying on her back on the bed wearing a black tank top that clung to her breasts like a second skin, her porcelain skin flushed a soft pink, her mid-back length red hair spread out around her head like a curtain of blood red silk. Her pale pink lips were parted slightly and she had one arm tossed over her stomach and the other up over her head.

Smiling faintly at how innocent she looked in her sleep, he reached out almost absently and grasped the blanket covering her and pulled it up over her body so that she wouldn't take a chill. Then knelt down next to the bed and picked up the small soft leather boots she often wore, and moved them away from the bed so that she wouldn't trip on them when she woke up in the morning.

Then shifted his attention to the small stack of books piled inbetween the bed and the small table next to it. There were seven books this time. All of them themed to centered around a romance of some kind. Which led him to believe that she had something missing in her life.

And that was perhaps why he found himself here in her home every night. Especially when he was normally so respectful of other people's bounderies.

But this female was a special case. Even his bros had thought so the day they had met.

At just ninteen years of age, still just a child by martian standards. She lived alone in the house that her recently dead mother had left to her before her death. She worked nights at only god knew where. Doing god knew what- and had an air of... _something_...about her that was unnatrual for a young woman her age.

In fact it had been that air, the way she held herself with her spine straight, and her head up- that had drawn the attention of himself and his bros when they had first met her a month ago. When she had come to the garage to get her car fixed.

He could recall it being a slow day for them and all of them had been had perked up instantly at the prospect of work.

Yet the moment she had stepped out of her car, they had more or less managed to zero in on the presence hanging over her head like a cloud and had decided to help Charley out with the car, while trying to find out more about her.

It hadn't been easy.

Lord knew that his girl was a tight lipped little thing, wary of everything and everyone around her.

Yet they had finally managed to find out her name and where she lived. After that, they had started riding by her place to check on things and more often than not found her arguing with a guy with spiked black hair and chiseled features wearing a black leather jacket and pants with matching leather biker boots.

Then there were times when they went by her place and the front door was wide open.

The first time they had seen the door open they had come to a screetching stop in the middle of the street, and ditched their bikes, and run to see if she was okay. Only to find her laying either asleep or unconscious just in the doorway, frowning in puzzlment the three wound up scratching their heads, and wondering what she was doing there before daring to enter her home to put her to bed.

After that it had become a daily routine for them to ride over to her place at some point or another, and to sit with her and just visit. Wanting to establish a bond with her of some kind.

Which had in a sorts spawned his sudden urge to use his military skills for breaking and entering, to infiltrate her home.

_It had been so easy the first time, he hadn't even had to use the picks he kept on him._

_The door had been unlocked- which had both concerned and angered him because he suddenly had a thousand different scenarios going through his mind. Was Aya alright? He wondered as he had pushed the door open. Had she been attacked coming home from work? Was she even alive? Or would he find some gruesome crime scene?_

_He'd systematically gone through the house, checking the rooms without touching anything- he knew how picky humans were about crime scenes- and by the time he had reached the master bedroom, he had been so twitchy that he had wanted to call Throttle in to help. However he had squashed the urge, feeling that if something had happened to Aya, if he found her wounded or worse- he at least wanted to give her her dignity before calling for help._

_It was no less than a lady deserved after all._

_Taking a shakey breath, he had pushed open the bedroom door and paused in the doorway with his heart in his throat and...blinked. Just blinked. His mind not really registering what he was seeing._

_There, curled up in a fetal position on the bed, had been Aya_. _Her face had been pale, her hair taking on the appearance of blood red fire in the wane light. But she had been alive. And he had been so relieved that his legs had given out and he had found himself sprawled on her bedroom floor, just watching her while she slept. _

_He never did figure out why the sound of his ass hitting the floor never woke her up. _

Leaning over her, he brushed a few strands of hair from her cheek exciting a small murmmer from her as she turned her head and made a soft sighing sound, causing him to smile faintly as he thought of how much he loved this woman.


	2. Chapter 2

He awoke to the sound of something clattering a few feet from his bed, and groaned. The sound dying down to almost a whimper as he reluctantly cracked open his eye to see Vinny bending down to pick up _his _toothbrush, toothpaste, and brush. All of which appeared to have been knocked over by the white furred male.

His tail twitched spasmically and he wondered almost idly if Throttle would stop him from wrapping his tail around the annoying mouses neck and shaking him until it snapped. No, wait- Where had that thought come from? He wondered as he lifted one hand to rub his eye.

He knew that he could be a bear in the the morning, especially if he was only functioning with under three hours of sleep, but to even entertain the notion of doing bodily harm to one of his bros...especially Vinny...the short bus mouse...was just _wrong_.

Which was why he took a moment to reign in his temper before looking at Vinny and asking in a groggy tone. "What are you doing?" Vinny jumped, startled at the sound of his voice and dropped what was in his hands, his fur and tail standing straight up in the air as he slowly turned his head to look at the eldest of his bros.

"Modo! Uh...crap man, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up so soon-" Modo made a noncommental sound in the back of his throat and turned his body so that he was at least facing Vinny's direction. He was starting to get a crick in his neck facing the other way while trying to look at his bro. "Throttle said to let you sleep another two hours or so before I could wake you."

"Then what are you doing in my room? Knocking things over..." Modo asked as he rested his head on his metal arm and blinked at the sixteen year old bundle of madness and energy before him and waited for an answer.

"Oh, that. It's Tuesday. One of the days when we go see Aya, have breakfast together and hang for a bit. As for the whole knocking over things bit...well, that was an accident. I was going to borrow your brush because my fur isn't laying down right." Modo made a humming sound and yawned. Making a point to open his mouth wide enough for Vinny to see the sharper of the teeth lining his top and bottom jaws then asked,

"What time is it?"

"Uh...six-ish."

Again Modo hummed, only this time he was pushing himself upright on the bed until he was sitting. The thin sheet he used to cover himself, falling from his chest to pool around his hips. "Take the brush and get out brat. I need to wake up, shower and make myself presentable." Taking that as his hint to get lost- and fast, Vinny nodded his head and grabbed the brush and then ran for the bedroom door and almost mowed Throttle down in his haste.

Modo heard the faint sound of Throttle's raspy voice go, "Whoa, Vin! Where's the fire?" Just a moment or so before his commander stepped into sight holding a coffee mug in his gloved hands. His green specs were slightly askew and resting low on the bridge of his nose. At twenty three the younger, soft brown furred male had far more _endurance_ and _patience_ for Vinny's mischief than Modo would ever have.

Now don't get Modo wrong, he liked kids. Really he did.

But Vinny- Vinny was a living, breathing train wreck waiting to happen and the thirty year old male knew it. He was just a little surprised by Throttle's sadistic personality since he let Vinny do whatever he liked far too often to be healthy for the boy.

Modo suspected that their commander was trying to teach Vinny restraint and a few..._other_ things. In his own twisted way. Then again maybe he was wrong and Throttle was waiting for the kid to actually off himself so that they could get a new and possibly better team mate. Although it was also a possibility that Throttle was waiting for Vinny to maybe break an arm or lose an eye so that he could sit back and laugh about it.

Modo could speculate a thousand reasons why his commander did what he did when it came to the kid, but he doubted that he would ever truly be spot on. Besides, speculating about Throttle's motives was a waste of time and energy.

That and it always gave him a headache.

Throttle peeked into his room and smiled, the upward curl of his lips were barely noticed when he heard Throttle speak to him, "Modo, I'm surprised you're up-" And his tone showed that he wasn't lying. Modo could hear the surprise in the younger male's tone as he stepped into the room and firmly closed the door behind him.

Modo made a humming sound and rubbed his eye again. "I am now." He said grumpily earning a frown from Throttle.

"Did Vinny wake you?" He sounded almost mad, Modo noted before shaking his head and pointed to the floor where his toothbrush and toothpaste still rested.

"Nah, my stuff fell over."

"Oh." Throttle muttered as he started to take a drink of his coffee when he caught Modo eying the mug. Blinking he sighed and held it out to his friend who took it from him and took a drink and shuddered at the taste and made a 'bleh' sound before asking.

"What the hell did you put in this?" Good god, the stuff burned his tongue and his throat, all the way to his stomach.

"Whiskey." Throttle said with a wide grin as Modo gave him a horrified look and opened his mouth to start to ask him why in gods name he had put whiskey in his coffee when Throttle cut him off with a, "So... You went back to again Aya's last night." It wasn't a question. Merely a fact that Throttle was keeping track of his nocturnal activities.

He wouldn't be a very good commander if he didn't keep track of his men. Especially when they were alone and something could happen to them.

Modo snapped his mouth shut and narrowed his eye at the younger male before growling through clenched teeth, "That isn't any of your business." Throttle just smiled at him and shrugged his broad shoulders.

_Sure it isn't. _The younger male thought as he said, "Look Modo, I get it. Really I do. She's a kid by our standards yet a woman by human standards. She's pretty, charming, and _alone_. And that pulls at your heartstrings because you want to protect her. We all do. But you can't keep obsessing over her. It's just wrong-" Modo clenched his jaw and fisted his hands in the sheet around his hips. Anger surging through him as Throttle continued. "Breaking into her home at night and doing god knows what, _is wrong_."

Modo made a low growling sound in the back of his throat and glared at Throttle, his one eye glowing scarlet red as he snapped, "Fuck off Throttle. And while you're at it, stay out of my life." Throwing back the sheet, Modo stood up and stomped over to his dresser and pulled out a clean pair of jeans and grabbed his belt off of the top of the polished wood then turned on his heel and marched out of his room, slamming the door behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

Modo's temper hadn't cooled much by the time he finished his shower and dressed for breakfast at Aya's.

In fact if anything, he was thinking of throwing Throttle's words back at him since he knew that the bastard had been going over to Charley-ma'am's place lately...behind Vinny's back. And while he didn't exactly know _why_ the male did so, he was pretty sure that throwing Throttle's own words back at him would result in a knock down drag out fight between them.

Not that he cared much at the moment since he was dying to punch the bastard. But if Throttle wanted to keep the peace between them then maybe he should mind his own damned business.

Modo made a low growling sound as he silently made his way down the hall to his room and slipped inside so that he could put his boots on. Walking over to his bed, he sank his hulking form down onto it with a tired sigh and looked across from his bed at the dresser. And the oval shaped mirror on top of it, at his reflection.

And flattened his ears against his head at what he saw there.

A ragged, and war worn male with far too many visible scars to be considered a prize by a female of worth. He wasn't young like he used to be. Hell, he wasn't even a looker, not like Throttle or even Vinny. Not with his one eye, and the pieces missing from his ears. Not with one metal arm and another of flesh.

He _hated_ the way he looked. What he'd lost during the war. And not even the thought of how he'd saved many of his people from agonizing deaths seemed to comfort him anymore.

_I'd give anything to be whole again. _He thought sadly as he looked away. Not able to stand even the look of his own reflection anymore. He'd give anything to be young and a looker... Everything that a girl like Aya would love.

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Aya awoke from her deep coma like sleep to the sound of her cell phone ringing somewhere under her covers, and groaned. Oh god, she wasn't ready to wake up and face the world yet. Not after what had happened last night at the club. She was still so-so _humiliated_ by the fact that she had been dragged off stage and groped that she wasn't even been able to move. Or even scream for help.

One of the bouncers had had to save her and by then she had been in hysterics.

Which was downright pitiful for someone in her line of work. As a striper she should expect such animalistic behavior from time to time, but even after a year in a half since starting her job, she still wasn't used to being pulled off stage by some drunk wanting to fuck her like she were a two dollar whore.

But she wasn't a whore. She just took her clothes off for money, nothing more.

The cell rang again and she cracked her eyes open a bit to look around her room. Wanting to make absolutely sure that she hadn't met some _horrible_ fate while walking home, and groaned again when she saw the familiar off blue walls of her bedroom. The ringing stopped and she blinked her eyes and then tried to push herself upright a little bit and hissed when she felt the bruises around her waist, left arm, and right breast give a painful twinge.

_Oh, ow... _She would have to hide the markings with something long and sleeved otherwise someone would know that- The phone started ringing again and she sighed and flopped back on the bed and tried ot think of who would be calling her so early. But her mind was drawing a blank so she glanced over at her little alarm clock and saw the date and sighed again.

Damn, it was Tuesday. Meaning that Throttle and the others were planning to stop by and have breakfast with her. That was the only reason she could think of for the persistant ring of her cell. One of them must be calling to make sure that she was awake.

Moving gingerly, she lifted her hips a bit and dug the phone out and fumbled to flip it open knowing that if the phone hung up and rang again the three bikers would be on their way much sooner than expected, possibly thinking that she had met with foul play. And facing down three pissed off alien mice that had nearly three feet on her and weighed somewhere between one hundred and sixty/ninty to two hundred and forty pounds wasn't something that she felt she could handle right now.

Finally though, she managed to flip open the cell and flopped back down on the bed feeling breathless, almost as if she had run a hundred miles or something. "I'm here- I'm alive." She said in greeting, earning a husky sounding laugh from the one on the other end of the line.

It was Throttle. She'd know that low, velvety smooth voice of his anywhere. _"Well that's good to know. What took you so long to answer the phone?" _Throttle asked in a curious tone.

"I was asleep." Aya said breathlessly. Throttle hummed and asked her if she'd had pleasant dreams since she was breathless, making her blush before saying, "That's none of your business."

He made a snorting sound and muttered, _"And you're the second person to say something like that to me today. But Aya, it is my business. Your under my protection, the protection of my bros. The comings and goings of the people in the neighborhood are absolutely our business. Now tell me who's with you." _

"No one is with me you damned fur ball!" Aya said in a pissed tone. "I'm not a fucking slut or whore! And I'm getting damn tired of people trying to treat me like one-" She realised her mistake too late, Throttle's mind had clamped onto her words and were at this very moment analizing them even as he growled.

_"Something happened." _It wasn't a question.

"Nothing happened Throttle-" Aya said just a little too quickly as he snapped,

_"Don't lie to me, little one."_

"Throttle-" She started to tell him that it was nothing when he cut her off.

_"Are you dressed?" _His sudden question about whether she was dressed or not both alarmed her and startled her. _"It's not a hard question to answer little one. So answer, are you dressed?" _

"N-No."

_"Then you have ten minutes to get dressed and ready for us to show up." _Throttle said as she opened her mouth to tell him to go to hell and looked longingly at her bedroom window. Wondering if she could climb out and make a run for it before they got there. She doubted she'd put much space between them since the three had their bikes and could chase her down easily enough. But no one said that she had to stick to the streets.

She could go visit a friend or something till they gave up or left. She was about to get up to go do just that when Throttle's husky voice smashed her idea to pieces with a quick. _"No running, Aya." _Just before the line went dead.


	4. Chapter 4

Modo stood a little ways away from Throttle as he talked on the phone with Aya and knew by the sudden change in Throttle's tone that something horrible must have happened to his girl. His commander glanced in his direction for a moment, then quickly looked away and growled out the words, "You have ten minutes to get dressed and ready for us to show up... No running, Aya."

Then flipped his cell closed and looked at Modo again with a peculiar look on his face as Vinny came into the den where Throttle had made a little nest for himself and looked from one to the other as Throttle hissed.

"Did you do something to her?" Vinny blinked and wondered who Throttle was talking too.

He was about to ask when he caught sight of Modo making a tight fist at his side, the claws of his flesh and blood hand digging into his palms to the point where they started to bleed. The crimson of his blood marring his grey fur as he stalked across the room to where the younger, smaller male stood and leaned down until they were almost nose to nose and snapped, "Fuck you, Throttle."

"Tell me that you didn't do anything to her, Modo."

"I'm going to bitch slap you if you ask me that again, commander or not- You should have some faith in your men." Modo growled, baring his teeth at Throttle before turning on his heel to go outside to get on his bike.

Throttle watched him go through narrowed eyes and made a low angery sound in the back of his throat before snapping his fingers at Vinny and pointing down the hall where his wayward comrade had disappeared too.

If he found out that Modo had done anything to that little girl... He'd shoot the bastard. And depending on the severity of what he had done, he'd aim low and make him regret whatever it was he must have done to her. Grabbing the key chain that he sometimes used in bar fights (the one with four two inch fang like keys attached to it) he hooked it onto the chain around his hips and then grabbed his helmet and started outside.

They needed to stop wasting time and go see if Aya was really alright. After all, the sooner he knew what had happened and who was responsible, the sooner he could make that person pay.

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Aya hung up her cell and looked back and forth between her window and bathroom longingly. Damn Throttle and his pushiness!

She was tempted to try running despite the fact that she _knew_ one of the three aliens would find her and drag her back home kicking and screaming. But on the other hand... She really wanted a shower since she hadn't taken one the night before and for some reason since waking up she had gotten it into her head that she smelled like the fucker that had dragged her off stage in the middle of one of her dances.

She sighed wishing that everyone would just leave her alone for today and quietly set her phone aside and climbed out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. She'd just wasted five minutes.

She had five left to wash up and dress. Then she'd have to have a stare down with her three guardians.

Flicking on the light in her bathroom, she looked around while trying to think of what she was going to wear once the guys were there. Bothering to go out of the way to hide the bruises would just be stupid since she was moving more slowly that usual.

God knew that the fur balls noticed _everything_ ranging from subtle changes in her scent that allowed them to know when she was ovulating, to the slightest movement that could indicate discomfort or pain somewhere in her body. They knew when she was in good health, when she was ill (she never got any rest when she was running a fever because one of them would spend the night in her house and it made her paranoid about closing her eyes).

Not because she felt threatened or anything, but because there was an very viril male somewhere in her house and it made it difficult for her to relax and sleep thinking about certain things. Things like, were their species attracted to humans? What did any of them think of her?

She knew that Throttle veiwed her as an orphan child, he had said as much a few times. Though she didn't understand why. But she wasn't sure about what Vinny and Modo thought of her.

She carefully peeled her shirt off, winching a bit as she did so and shivered a little bit as a shiver shot down her spine. Reaching out, she turned on the tap for the shower and adjusted it to the usual warmth and then quickly stripped off her skirt and panties.

She was already probably past the ten minute mark but she didn't care. Throttle and the boys could just sit outside until she was done.

She showered as quickly as she could while letting the warm water go to work on her sore muscles and such as she grabbed her jasmine scented soap and gave herself a thorough rub down, paying particular attantion to the finger shaped black and blue places on her skin, before moving on to wash her hair then shave.

Finally, she was done and leaned back against the wall as she reached out and turned off the water and just stood there for a second before hearing a loud banging at her front door that made her lips quirk slightly in amusement. Ah, but the guys got so impatient when they were worried about her.

The banging started up again and she sighed, wondering if it was Throttle or one of the others currently trying to knock down her front door.

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Throttle banged on the front door to Aya's house one last time and then growled menacingly and took a small step back away from her front door. Goddamn it he had told her no running. Having someone under his protection run from him made him feel like a wolf in mouse's clothing, really it did.

And the last thing he had wanted to do was hunt her down and drag her back home, kidnapper style.

He was about to go down the steps and jump back on his bike and order the others to help him look for her when the door swung open and Aya appeared in the doorway with her long red hair sopping wet, with a damp towel in her hand, wearing an off the shoulders black shirt with a dark blue butterfly print and a pair of dark skinny jeans.

Her feet were bare and she looked more tired than usual to the three as Throttle moved to stand in front of her and lightly grasped her shoulders as Vinny and Modo got off of their bikes. "Aya... You okay doll? Are you hurt anywhere?" The alien commander asked in a loow concerned tone.

She gave him a forced smile and lied though she knew he and the others would find out about the bruises soon enough. "No, I'm fine. Just sleepy."

Throttle's gloved hands moved from her shoulders to her hair, noting that it was so wet that it soaked through his gloves and the fur of his hands. "And as wet as a person standing in a downpour-" He mused as he bent down a bit and grabbed the towel out of her hand and draped it over her head and started to rub her head.

"Throttle."

"Hm?"

"Please stop that."

"But you'll catch a cold-" Throttle started to argue when he felt Modo's metal hand grip the nape of his neck as the elder leaned down and growled in his ear.

"Stop babying her. She doesn't like it." Throttle's hands stilled, but he didn't remove them from Aya's head or the towel.

"Back off Modo, her hair needs to be dry, unless of course you want her to get sick." Modo dug his claws into Throttle's neck a little bit. Not enough to draw blood, but enough to make the younger male uncomfortable.

Modo tightened his hold a fraction of an inch as he breathed, _"Fuck you Throttle."_ in his commanders ear before letting him go and quickly bending down a bit at the waist and picking Aya up. Startling her and his bros as he moved into the house.


	5. Chapter 5

"Modo..." Aya said in a tired tone as he carried her through her home and into the livingroom before setting her down and then moved back a bit so that he could sit himself between her coffee table and her chair.

And used his hands to gently push some of her wet hair out of her face so that he could _see_ her. Her face was pale. Much paler than he had ever seen before, making the dark circles under her eyes stand out in stark contrast.

"You look like you're about to pass out babe." He said in a soft almost teasing tone when Throttle and Vinny walked into the room and his commander said in an authoritive tone.

"She can't pass out yet. I want to know what happened last night." Pissing Modo off so badly that he saw red.

How _dare_ Throttle.

How dare he try to excercise his authority over someone who wasn't under his command and not feeling well. Especially when Aya could tell them what they wanted to know later on, once she had rested a bit more.

"Throttle, try to be reasonable- Look at her. She's barely hanging on right now." Vinny said in a worried tone as Throttle prowled around the room before stopping by one of the windows just long enough to see if it was properly latched before moving on to the next one.

Throttle looked at his bros over his shoulder, his eerie stare silencing any further arguments though Modo still felt the strong urge to get up and punch the smaller male into next week. "I am trying to be reasonable. I need to know what happened to prevent it from happening again. Letting her rest now when the details are still fresh in her mind wouldn't do any of us- Aya included, any favors."

"That may be so-" Modo growled, baring his teeth a bit. "But you don't have to act like a son of a bitch about things." He finished his sentence with a snarl as Throttle made his way over to where Aya was sitting, slumped over in her seat and with a small sigh knelt down next to Modo. Startling the giant slightly as he reached out and with surprising gentlness used his hands to make Aya look at him and said in an pained tone.

"At least tell me you weren't hurt."

Aya gave him a weak smile. "Just a few bruises. Nothing big." She said lightly, trying to play off the bruises as less painful than they were. Throttle's ears drooped a little bit and he leaned in and gave her a small..._hug?_ His arms didn't exactly go around her, and he didn't squeeze like a normal person would.

But it felt like a hug to her nevertheless.

Modo sat there with his jaw hanging open for a second before he managed to pull himself together enough to realize that he had his metal hand up, the claws ready to dig into the back of Throttle's neck when his commander pulled back.

Leaving him little choice but to use his flesh hand to _push_ his other hand down before he got himself into trouble with Aya for bloodying her chair and living room floor as well as with Mars command.

_Bad hand! No killing Throttle! _Modo thought almost in a panic as he tried to will his body to relax even though his mind was screaming at him to grab Aya and kick the tawny colored male in the nads. _Repeatedly. _Until he puked up a kidney would be nice.

But he couldn't do that. At least not with Aya watching.

And she was watching them, he could feel it in the tingling sensation that ran along his spine. He looked at her and caught her eye through some of her hair and inwardly cringed. Jesus, if he had taken that swipe at Throttle, what would he have said to her?

_Uh... I'm sorry there's blood everywhere. But I don't like it when other males touch you. _God, he'd sound like an utter ass if he said something like that to her. Aya watched him for a second or so longer then sighed and leaned against the side of her chair and closed her eyes.

Watching the boys do whatever the hell they were doing, was tiring her out. Closing her eyes for a moment, she felt a gloved hand cover her eyes as Throttle said in a soft tone. "I've changed my mind. Get some rest and we'll talk more about the incident later once you've woken up." Aya made a noncommental sound and slumped just a bit further in her seat, until she was almost leaning completely to the side.

Her mind already being tugged at by her exhaustion.

Throttle stood there, half leaning over her with his hand covering her eyes until he was sure that she was asleep. Only then did he bother removing his hand and looking at his bros as a sigh escaped him. It looked like they wouldn't be doing their normal routine today.

Not when they would all be spending time here with Aya to make sure that nothing happened to her again.


	6. Chapter 6

The moment that their little human was out, Throttle slowly removed his hand then used his hands to adjust the way that Aya was sitting so that she wouldn't wake up with painful cricks in her neck while he assumed Vinny disappeared from the room to go get a blanket or something. Leaving him more or less alone with Modo..._again_.

The tawny colored mouse looked the grey male over for a second before saying, "You must really have it bad to raise your hand against me while my back is turned." Modo looked up at him from his place on the floor, his expression a mixture of curiosity, and mortiforcation. How had Throttle known?

It wasn't like he had eyes in the back of his head. Modo thought. His one eye twitching slightly as Throttle pointed to a mirror a few feet away. "I saw you." He said, his tone bemused rather than angry.

Modo ducked his head and cleared his throat and muttered an soft apology as Throttle shrugged and said. "Look man, I get it. Really I do-"

"No. Throttle, I don't think you do." Modo said as he finally lifted his head to look at his commander. "You know how wild our males get when we find our mates. Aya, despite being a human- seems to be mine." He said seriously. Throttle looked at him for a moment like he had grown another head then glanced at Aya and growled.

"Bullshit! That's impossible. She can't be your mate."

"And your in denial, bro. Because all of those late night drives to come over here and check up on her, my fraying temper, raising my hand to hurt you while your back is turned- They're all signs. Signs that _that-" _Modo pointed at Aya before continueing to speak. "Little human is my mate. I've know it since I laid my eye on her... There is no turning back now. It's either get the girl or go insane."

Throttle flattened his ears against his head a little bit while his tail gave an annoyed flick behind him. He didn't beleive that Aya (adorable as she was for a human) was Modo's mate, but he had to admit that _something_ had been eating away at the normally gentle natured mouse of late.

"Again, I say, bullshit. It's impossible for one of our kind to mate outside the species. You're just acting out because you need to get laid. A severe case of blue balls for our males tends to play with the mind."

"This isn't a game Throttle. Aya is my mate whether she has awknowledged it yet or not. _I'm aware. _The knowledge is already eating at my mind_. _And that could mean serious trouble for anyone stupid enough to try and get close to her or court her while I'm around."

Throttle was quiet for several moment. His mind calculating everything he'd just been told.

He still didn't think it was possible for them to mate outside of their own species. There were things like their life span, compaired to the average human life span, and kids- Was it even possible to breed a human? He wondered. They were so small and frail compaired to them. Their bodies weren't meant for harsh temperatures, or the type of battle contitions that the mice were born built for.

They didn't have any fur to help keep them warm, no tails to help them grab things if they really needed too.

"I still think you're wrong." Throttle finally said as Modo looked at Aya, a hungry look passed over his features for a brief moment and Throttle blinked and started to open his mouth to say something but snapped his mouth closed again as Modo looked away, his teacher, Stoker's, words echoing in his head.

_You don't know the true meaning of lonliness Throttle. You were raised in a loving family, doted on by everyone. Modo wasn't so lucky. His father was a rapist, his mother took her own life- And Modo, he was left to pick up the pieces of his shattered world. He worked hard to be a good man. To keep his father's shadow from following him. People fear him. Because of his height and monsterous strength...he stands out more than anyone else._

_He won't find a gal among our kind that will look past all of that. He'll be lucky if he finds a mate at all. _

_Damn, how could I have forgotten? _Throttle wondered as he sighed. Glancing back at Aya as Vinny re entered the room with a blanket in hand, he watched quietly as Modo stood up and walked over to the white furred mouse and took the blanket from him then made his way over to their human, and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, his hands shifting from her shoulders to push her hair back and lingering for a moment too long.

The commander looked away as an embarressed flush krept up to his face under his fur and clenched his teeth as he thought, _Crap, this can't be_ _happening._ Because if it was then both Modo and Aya would need to be watched more closely.


	7. Chapter 7

Aya slept for the next few hours, slightly slouched over in her chair before her slouched over posture finally drove Throttle crazy enough for him to remove her from her napping place and put her on the small couch where Modo had been sitting. Watching her with his one eye until Throttle forced him to move.

Now he was sitting in the spot she'd been napping in, his large hands resting on the arms of the chair, his fingers lightly stroking the fabric as he continued to stare at the human's face, unblinkingly while Throttle walked around the room silently.

Occasionally casting questioning glances at the grey furred giant.

It was sometime after two thirty when Aya's cordless phone rang, startling the two mice in the livingroom, and waking Aya from her nap with a muttered oath. Getting up quickly she made her way over to where the phone was, and picked it up.

"Mn. Hello?" She said as she answered the phone and looked around the room to find that both Throttle and Modo were staring at her. Obviously wondering _who_ was calling and _why_.

_"Aya-gal, are you alright? Did you get home safely?" _

It was Mike Anderson, one of the bouncers that worked at the club. Aya sighed and used her free hand to push some of her red hair back from her face. "Hey, Mike. Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. I got home safely. Thanks for asking."

_"That's good. I was worried-" _Both mice cocked their heads as they listened. _"Since that guy has already been in here five times today asking for your address so that he can find you." _Modo let out an annoyed sound as Throttle crossed his arms over his chest and waited for the conversation to continue. _"He's been telling everyone that you're lovers!" _

There was a loud rumbling sound from somewhere to her left and she turned her head just in time to see Throttle jump a few pieces of furniture and stop by the chair Modo was sitting in.

Staring wide eyed in shock and confusion, she took in the murderous expression that was on Modo's face as the other mouse put his hands on the bigger male's shoulders and was pushing down in an effort to keep him from getting up out of his seat. Putting her hand over the mouth piece she asked, "Modo are you okay?"

And got a furious growl in response as the two males stared at her.

"He's fine, Aya. Go ahead with you're call." Throttle said evenly as Modo started to push him out of the way and wound up with the smaller male sitting in his lap, his arms and tail being used to restrain him as Aya frowned at them and went back to talking.

"Well we aren't lovers. In fact I wouldn't give him the time of day. He's disgusting."

_"I know that girl, but everyone else here might not. Most of our girls aren't known for being as innocent as you are- So most people think you're just being a cock tease or playing hard to get." _

"So?"

_"So for the time being, I'd suggest that you stay home. I know that you need the money to make ends meet, but we'll worry about that later. Right now your safety is more important." _

Sighing, her shoulders slumping a little bit Aya looked across the room at the window. Her dark red hair hiding her expression as she said, "Alright Mike. I'll stay home until we can figure out something else."

_"Now don't be letting this get you down, it isn't for forever." _

"Yeah. I know."

_"That's my gal. I have to go now. Someone is busting the place up-" _

"Bye Mike. Be careful not to get hurt."

_"Same to you little girl." _A second later the line went dead and Throttle released Modo with a sigh, missing the look of painful retaliation on the elder's face as he stood up and dumped him into the floor then stepped over him and walked over to their human and wrapped an arm around her slender shoulders. Trying to comfort her as he took the cell from her numb fingers.

"Aya..."

"Hn?"

"Are you okay?" Modo asked in a concerned tone. She tipped her head back to look up at him and faked a smile.

"I'm fine. You guys want to hang around for lunch?"

Taken aback by her forced smile and words, Modo looked back at Throttle unsure of how to respond. Throttle however knew and understood what Aya was doing and though he knew it wasn't good to hold things in, he decided to let things slide just this once and smiled pleasantly as he said. "It's funny that you mentioned lunch, Vinny is in the kitchen right now trying to whip something up for us."

"Really? That's great!"

"Yeah. And I'll do whatever dishes are dirtied so you can take it easy since you still look a bit under the wheather."

"Okay. Hey how about once the dishes are done we all sit down to watch some movies?"

"Sounds like a plan sweetheart." Throttle said as he walked over to where Aya and Modo stood and ruffled the girl's hair affectionately as he gave Modo an, _'You're falling down on your job, man'_ sort of look.


End file.
